Last year, 279 cases of domestic violence were reported to the police – a drop from the 305 cases reported in 2016. Sexual offence cases also decreased, from 467 in 2016 to 417 last year.

A 2007 study by the Ministry of Gender and Family – the first comprehensive nationwide survey of domestic violence in the Maldives – found that one in three women between the ages of 15 and 49 was a victim of sexual or physical abuse.